The Star that guides the way

VERŻJONI BIL-MALTI

Presence: I become aware that God is here to meet me now.  I imagine him standing next to me, listening to my wishes and desires.

I ask for what I wish: Lord, give me the grace to recognise “the stars” which guide me towards true Life.

Text: Mt 2, 1-12 The Visit of the Magi

¹After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

³ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

⁶ “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’^[b]”

⁷ Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”⁹ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Inspiration

O God,
who am I now?
Once, I was secure
in familiar territory
in my sense of belonging

unquestioning of the norms of my culture
the assumptions built into my language
the values shared by my society.

But now you have called me out and away from home
and I do not know where you are leading.
I am empty, unsure, uncomfortable.
I have only a beckoning star to follow.

Journeying God,
pitch your tent with mine
so that I may not become deterred
by hardship, strangeness, doubt.
Show me the movement I must make

toward a wealth not dependent on possessions
toward a wisdom not based on books
toward a strength not bolstered by might
toward a God not confined to heaven
but scandalously earthed, poor, unrecognized…

Help me find myself
as I walk in others’ shoes.

Points for meditation 1:

The magi followed a star that led them to a mysterious place. Where does God want me to go this year? What are the stars, the signs that God is sending to me in this moment of my life?

1. How am I responding to these signs?
2. What is holding me back (other priorities, ambitions) from taking the first step on the path to follow what God is showing me? 

• I jot down, in brief, anything that has struck me throughout my prayer.

Points for meditation 2:

I imagine Jesus walking beside me on my journey. I share with Him the obstacles I am facing and how I feel about them. I speak to Him about this path I am on, remembering that I am never journeying alone – there are others who can support and guide me along the way.

“When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.”
Give thanks to God for the signs he sends along the way.

Other texts for your personal prayer time at home:

• 1 John 4,10 – “It is not we who have loved God, but He first loved us”.
  Genesis 3,9 – The most important thing is not that I seek you, but that you seek me in every way.
• Isaiah 60:1-6 – A prophecy of light shining in the darkness, calling people from all nations to seek God.
• Ephesians 3:1-12 – Paul speaks of the mystery of God’s revelation, which is now revealed to all nations, reflecting the openness of God’s plan to the Gentiles.
• John 1:9-14 – The true light that enlightens everyone comes into the world, echoing the theme of revelation.
• Luke 2:25-32 – Simeon’s recognition of Jesus as the light to the Gentiles, symbolizing the universal nature of Christ’s revelation.

Witnesses

St. Augustine

St. Augustine, one of the most influential Christian thinkers, underwent a dramatic conversion from a life of indulgence and searching for truth in various philosophies to becoming a devout Christian. Augustine searched for meaning in a life of pleasure, worldly success, and philosophy, but his “star” was the grace of God, guiding him to true enlightenment

He experienced an inner struggle, and his moment of conversion came when he heard a voice telling him, “Take up and read,” which led him to read St. Paul’s letters, specifically Romans 13:13-14 that brought him to the recognition of Christ as the truth, a moment of divine revelation that transforms their journey. Just as the Magi’s eyes were opened to the true King, Augustine’s heart and mind were opened to God’s call.

Servant of God Pedro Arrupe sj

In 1926, Arrupe’s father died, an event which filled him with great sadness. In the summer of the same year he went on a pilgrimage to Lourdes with his four sisters. The experiences he gathered from Lourdes were fundamental for his future life. In the conversations with Jean-Claude Dietsch, SJ he described his experiences as follows:

“For me Lourdes is the city of miracles. I stayed there for some three months. Being a medical student, I obtained permission to observe the work of the Office of Verification. I was, thus, the witness of three miraculous cures from the very moment they took place in the midst of the faithful who were praying to the Virgin Mary, and then on through the medical verification that was carried out by the doctors who were atheists. This impressed me very much, because I had often heard my professors in Madrid, who also were atheists, speak of the “superstitions of Lourdes.” There was born my vocation, in that atmosphere of both simplicity and grandeur at the feet of the Virgin Mary, midst the noisy insistent prayer of the pilgrims and the sweet murmurings of the river Gave.”

Subsequent to these gathered findings, Arrupe decided not to continue his medical studies. On 15 January 1927, he joined the Society of Jesus.